Push-ups are the "ultimate multitasking exercise," according to Alwyn Cosgrove, a gym owner in Santa Clarita, California. Proper form is essential in gaining the most benefits. Push-ups work your chest, shoulders and triceps primarily, but they also strengthen your abdominals, lower back, upper back and glutes.
Follow Proper Form
Whether you do bent-knee push-ups or straight-leg push-ups, maintaining proper form maximizes your time and strengthens your muscles to a greater degree than if you let your form get sloppy. The most important technique is keeping your body rigid, without any sagging of your back and without any arching of your hips. Also, make sure your elbows flare out completely in the lowering phase and that your chest or chin get very near to, or actually touch, the floor. Extend your arms completely in the upper movement.
According to the American Council on Exercise, focusing on pushing through the heel and outside of your palm gives you stability in your shoulders and greater force in your press. ACE also recommends gripping dumbbell handles if necessary to alleviate stress on your wrist joints. With dumbbells, lower yourself only to the level of the dumbbells, not the floor.
Take Your Time
The triple-stop push-up requires you to spend more time in the different push-up phases. Simply pause for two seconds once you get into the starting position, when you are halfway down to the floor, and when you are just inches off the floor. Holding each position stimulates muscle growth. Do as many repetitions as you can in two or three sets of push-ups. Strive for 30 reps in each set.
Add Depth
Begin with your hands on a medicine ball for what the American College of Sports Medicine calls a depth push-up. Drop your hands quickly from the ball, placing them on the floor slightly wider that shoulder-width apart and letting your chest contact the ball. Quickly extend your elbows and push back up to your hands on the ball. This push-up works your core as it struggles to help you maintain stability on the ball.
Additional Improvement
To enhance a simple push-up, use a large fitness ball to strengthen the small serratus anterior muscle on the side of your shoulder blades. This muscle helps balance the workload of the rotator cuff muscles, helping you avoid injuries. Get into a push-up position with your hands on the ball under your shoulders, with your fingers spread apart, thumbs pointing forward. Raise and lower yourself on the ball, keeping your abdominals as tight as you can to add stability to your movements.
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